Eight Months Later
by kathrynblack
Summary: Eight months after Director Shepard's death, Gibbs and the team are investigating a case. Evidence soon begins to solve the mystery surrounding her death. Jibbs and some McAbby if you squint.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: here is a NCIS fic that refuses to leave me alone. So here goes nothing.**

Anthony DiNozzo flipped open the phone lying next to Director Shepard's body.

"Jen…Jen," Gibbs' voice from the other end of the phone was a tone Tony had rarely heard in his boss' voice, that of fear.

"Boss," He was barely able to say anything and was glad he had managed to say that simple word.

"Tony, I have a pulse," Ziva said.

"Boss, I gotta go," Without waiting for a reply Tony hung up.

"DiNozzo…DiNozzo…Tony, answer me!" Gibbs screamed. Getting no answer he slammed the phone shut and dialed Ziva's number who also failed to pick up. _What is so damn important_? He asked himself, hoping to God Jenny was okay.

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A nurse approached Tony and Ziva in the waiting room of the hospital, "Agents DiNozzo, David, Director Shepard died in surgery. I am sorry for your loss."

Ziva was shocked, when she had checked the pulse it was strong, or at least had seemed strong. She almost felt like crying, though she refused to do so in front of Tony. She took a deep breath and calmed herself.

"So," DiNozzo started, "Which one of us is gonna tell Gibbs, keeping in mind that whoever does won't be coming to work in the morning." Tony tried the cocky grin he so often had on his face, hoping to mask the pain beneath. On anyone else it would have worked, but Ziva knew him too well. He let the grin fall away. He couldn't hide from Ziva, and couldn't feel like he needed to. "We should get back to the hotel, call Gibbs and get some rest."

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_8 months later._

"Get your gear. We're headed to Bethesda." Gibbs announced walking into the bullpen at NCIS.

Tony, Ziva, and McGee looked up. "What happened?" Tony asked unlocking his desk and pulling out his gun.

"Dead Navy officer."

Tony could have guessed as much. He was hoping for some more details. He didn't say anything though; Gibbs was not one for details.

Gibbs pulled a set of keys out of his desk. "DiNozzo-"

"The car, right boss." Tony finished for him catching the keys Gibbs had thrown at him.

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Tony slammed the door of the car shut and followed Gibbs toward the body, leaving Ziva and McGee to unload the gear.

"Why must he do this?" Ziva asked, pulling two cases out of the back.

"Because he's Tony," McGee replied.

Ziva shrugged. "You are probably right."

Tony was interviewing a Petty Officer Robert Grayson, the man who had found the body. "Didn't touch him at all," Robert Grayson was saying, "Soon as I saw the body I called you."

"Do you know him?" Tony asked.

"No, sir."

"Thank you," Tony said, flipping his notepad closed and walking over to Gibbs. Gibbs was opening a wallet he had found on the body. It contained three credit cards two hundred dollars in cash, but no I.D.

"Ducky here yet?" Gibbs asked.

"Not yet," McGee answered him and Ziva just now making it over to the body.

"Probably let Palmer drive again," Tony said.

As soon as Tony had finished Ducky pulled up. "Sorry I'm late Jethro," he said climbing out.

"Palmer got ya lost?" Tony guessed.

"No, I did not," Palmer replied, "Traffic was bad along Connecticut."

"What have we got Jethro?" Ducky asked.

"Dressed like a Petty Officer, but we've got no I.D." Gibbs answered. He left Ducky to his work and started walking around their crime scene.

About a minute later Ducky called to him, "Jethro."

"Find somethin' Duck?"

Ducky handed him a sheet of paper with a phone number written across it. "Area code's not from anywhere around here."

"Give me a number and I could trace it, get you a name." McGee suggested.

Gibbs did not answer him, but pulled out his cell phone and dialed the number.

"Or you could of course just call it."

The call went to voice mail. "This is Captain Christopher Almaden of the Dayton Ohio Police Department, leave me a name and number and I will get back to you."

Gibbs left his name and number, said his call was pertaining to an open case he was investigating and shut the phone again. "No answer," He said. "Dayton?" he muttered to himself as his team continued their investigation. "Could he be connected at all to…but Dayton's too big of a city to know, right?"

McGee stopped what he was doing. Gibbs muttering to himself like this was something McGee had never seen before. He wondered what exactly a phone number that went to voicemail could tell Gibbs something that had him doing this.

The answer was simple. Dayton, Ohio was Jenny Shepard's home town.

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**A/N: Okay, there ya have it. Please tell me if they ever mention Jenny's home town, because it's just my luck one of the like five episodes I haven't seen would mention that.**


	2. Chapter 2

McGee walked through the sliding doors of Abby's lab. "Got us an I.D yet Abbs?" he asked.

"Any minute now McGee," she replied. She did not turn away from the computer running their victim's fingerprints to try and find an I.D.

McGee walked up behind Abby. He placed one hand on top of her desk on either side of her. Whenever he did this he tried to convince himself that it was simply because it was the easiest way to watch the computer screen, and that was what he would have said if anyone had asked. However, the truth was simply he liked to be close to her. Cocking his head slightly to the side, he asked. "Why didn't you narrow it to the armed forces database?"

"Just because he's dressed like a petty officer does not mean he actually _is _a petty officer. And we have an I.D. Our victims name is Hector Mirendez."

Since they had an I.D McGee instinctively took a step back. Gibbs would be here any second to ask if she had anything, and with as overly protective of Abby Gibbs was it was best for McGee to maintain a safe distance. "I'll go tell Tony and Ziva." McGee said.

"I take it that means we have an I.D." Gibbs said.

McGee spun around to find his boss standing just inside the sliding doors of Abby's lab. How he managed to get in without either of them hearing remained a mystery.

"Yes we do," Abby said, "Hector Mirendez is his name."

"I am going to tell Tony and Ziva," McGee said, "Now that we have a name we might be able to find someone who'd want him dead."

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Palmer and Ducky were looking for an injection point for the lethal amount of morphine that Abby had found in their victim's blood. After all normal injection sites had been check and nothing had been found, they proceeded to check the entire rest of the body.

"Dr. Mallard, I can't find one," Jimmy Palmer said, "Maybe it was given to him through an I.V."

"When Abigail gives us an I.D we will check hospital records." Ducky replied.

"And in the meantime?"

"In the meantime, Mr. Palmer, there is one place we have not checked yet. Open his mouth please."

Palmer did as instructed.

Ducky lifted the victim's tongue and shone a flashlight inside his mouth. "We have ourselves an injection site, Mr. Palmer." he said pointing to a pinsized hole under the victim's tongue.

"How'd you know to check there?" Palmer asked.

"It's an interesting story actually I was-" Ducky stopped short when he heard the door to his autopsy room open.

"What have you got for me, Duck."

Palmer and Ducky turned toward the door to find Gibbs standing behind them. "Well," Ducky began, "There is a sizeable head wound, but it only knocked him out. His actual death was brought about by a lethal amount of morphine injected under the tongue. Has Abby found an I.D for the poor boy yet?"

"Petty Officer Hector Mirendez."

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Normally when any of the teams at NCIS found a lead or an I.D on a victim Director Leon Vance did not give it a second look. He had more important things to do. However, today when he learned that Gibbs' team had I.D a murder victim as Petty Officer Hector Mirendez, the director paused. He was sure he had heard that name before.

When he saw a picture it all came flooding back. He had met with this murder victim once. When he was in the D.C area because of the internal investigation the FBI put NCIS through.

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_Leon Vance looked across to the young petty officer sitting before him. "I hear you know Jenny Shepard." Vance said._

"_Met her once or twice. She grew up just down the street from my mom," the petty officer replied, "Why do you ask, sir?"_

"_Because, I want you to kill her."_

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**A/N: How's that for a cliff hanger? Fun isn't it.**


	3. Chapter 3

"_I want you to kill her."_

_The emotion on Hector's face was a mixture of anger and confusion. "What?" He asked. "You want me to what? I said I would help you next time you needed something, but this is not what I meant. The woman is my godmother for Christ's sakes! What makes you think I will do this for you?"_

"_She asked me to and asked me to get you to help."_

"_She asked you to kill her?"_

_Hector was not believing him for a second. Vance could tell. "In a sense, yes. Actually, she wants to fake her death."_

"_Why?"_

"_Honestly, I don't know." Vance knew he was getting less believable by the second._

"_Okay, and when she fakes her death, for reasons unknown, it will put you in charge."_

"_Temporarily, technically two months. That's as long as she expects to be gone." After looking at Hector's face, Vance breathed a sigh of relief. Hector was in. Vance had saved himself at the last second._

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Ziva leaned against Tony's desk, her head turned to get a view of his computer screen. "You really shouldn't be playing games," she said, "Gibbs will be back soon."

"Technically it'll be four and a half minutes, and I only need two to finish this level." Tony replied without taking his eyes off the game he was playing.

"This your internal Gibbs clock again, because if it is you should have learned by now not to trust it," McGee interjected.

"Was anyone talking to you Probie?" Tony asked turning his head away from the screen a split second long enough for Tony to lose and a 'game over' message to flash on his screen. "Damn it," He said banging his desk.

"Well, maybe now you could do some work, DiNozzo."

"Sorry Boss," Tony said, bracing himself for what he figured was an inevitable head slap. None came. "Okay, Hector Mirendez,"

Ziva jumped in just in time. Tony hoped Gibbs hadn't noticed that he hadn't learned anything about their victim. "Was born in Dayton, Ohio," Ziva started, "His father taught high school and his mother worked at the Air Force base out there. His parents were both shot when he was seventeen. He lived with an aunt until he finished high school and enlisted in the Navy right after graduation."

"Pretty good service record with the Navy," Tony said. By now he had managed to look a few things up while Gibbs was distracted. "There was a quite large bar fight while he was on leave a few months ago he participated in, but other than that nothing."

"Find the other people involved in this bar fight and figure out what it was about," Gibbs ordered. "Anyone else got anything?"

"Um, I found something interesting." McGee wasn't sure whether or not he should have said anything. He didn't continue.

Gibbs raised his eyebrows, "What McGee?"

"Well, I was looking through his phone records and I found Dir- Jenny Shepard's," he corrected himself, "In his contact numbers and frequent calls to Vance and the Director's office. Calls that completely bypassed all the screenings we have, didn't even have to deal with their secretary. All of the calls, even the ones to Vance, stopped eight months ago. I just found it a little strange."

"Not very, considering Jenny Shepard was born in Dayton, Ohio," Gibbs replied.

Tony looked over at Ziva. "I always thought she was born in D.C. Her dad worked with the Pentagon and all." He said.

"Dad had to work somewhere before the Pentagon," Gibbs said. He had retired from the Army and moved back to Dayton to raise his family. Then when he had gotten the Pentagon job he moved east, buying the house that had burned to the ground eight months ago. "And DiNozzo," Gibbs continued. He walked over to Tony and slapped him upside the head, "Don't play those computer games."

"Sorry Boss," Tony apologized.

Gibbs' cell phone started ringing. The number displayed on the caller I.D was the one found on Hector Mirendez's body. Maybe now they could get some answers.

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**A/N: did that help or did that just confuse you more? Tell me please because I was going for a specific one and I want to know if I succeeded.**


	4. Chapter 4

"Gibbs." He answered his phone.

"Agent Gibbs, this is Captain Almaden. I'm returning your call from earlier."

"Right. Captain I just have a couple questions. Hector Mirendez, Do you know him?"

"Gibbs, I'm a homicide captain. Whatever he's mixed up in or if he's dead there is no need to dance around the issue."

"Okay, he was found dead at Bethesda Naval Base, your number was found on the body. Do you know him and or why your number would be with him?"

"I worked his parents' case, at least until the Air Force took it over. As for why you found it on him instead of in his contacts list, I just changed my number. He may not have gotten around to putting it in his phone yet. His parents case is closed and the officer who killed them in jail for life, but if you want it I could send you the case file."

"Get me that file."

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Tony looked over at where Gibbs was standing; judging whether or not Gibbs would be able to hear him. He looked far enough away, but with Gibbs there was always a risk involved. "He seems to know a lot about her." Tony said to Ziva.

"They were partners," Ziva replied, hoping that would be the end of it. She was not in the mood to discuss Gibbs and Jenny's relationship at the moment.

"Yes, but I'm starting to wonder in how many senses of the word."

"So he knew where she grew up. I know where you grew up. You know where I grew up. Plus you are forgetting rule number twelve."

"Rule number twelve: Never date a co-worker. Zee-vah," he was using that pronunciation of her name that just made her want to punch him, "You are forgetting rule number thirteen: _everyone _breaks rule number twelve."

"That is not rule number thirteen."

"DiNozzo's rule number thriteen."

Ziva laughed. "_You_ have rules now?"

"Yes, and what with McGee and Abby-"

"McGee and Abby?"

"Sorry before your time. Plus there's-" Tony stopped abruptly when Gibbs walked back into the bull pen.

"McGee," Gibbs said holding the cell phone out to him, "Captain Almaden wants to e-mail or something."

"I'm sorry Captain," McGee said taking the phone, "My boss is not very technology friendly. What do you need?"

"Tony, Ziva, what've you got for me?"

Tony tossed Ziva the remote that controlled the plasma screen. She hit a button and the picture of a naval officer appeared on the screen. "From what we can gather from the report the fight seemed to be between this man,Gregory Keen, and Petty Officer Mirendez," Ziva started, "It was about Keen's supposed selling of drugs."

"But why?" Tony asked. "Way I see it there are three reasons. One: Mirendez is an actual good guy and was gonna turn Keen in and he found out. Two: Mirendez is a user who was cut off and threatened to turn him in because of it. Or three: Mirendez is also a dealer and Keen was movin' in on his territory. Any three a those will give you a bar fight."

"We could always ask Keen. He is here at Bethesda." Ziva said.

"DiNozzo you're with me." Gibbs ordered.

Tony pulled his gun out of his desk and grabbed his coat off the back of his chair. "On your six boss." He said following Gibbs to the elevator.

After the two had stepped into the elevator and the doors had closed behind them Gibbs reached up and slapped Tony upside the head. "Rule number twelve has no exceptions." Gibbs said.

"Of course Boss." Tony rubbed the back of his head. That had been surprisingly hard for a Gibbs slap. _Note to self: never talk about Jenny with Gibbs anywhere near me._ Tony decided.

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Gibbs and Tony pulled up to the building Gregory Keen was staying at to find the F.B.I already there. "NCIS, what's going on here?" Gibbs asked, flashing his badge.

One of the F.B.I agents turned toward Tony and Gibbs and said, "We're taking Gregory Keen into custody."

"Why?" Gibbs asked.

"I'm not at liberty to say."

"We need to talk to him."

"Well, you won't be able to do that for a while."

"He is involved in a murder investigation."

"Sorry Agent…"

"Gibbs." He supplied.

"Gibbs, my orders come from pretty high up. No one talks to him but us."

Someone at the F.B.I was stalling his investigation. Gibbs was sure of that, and he knew only one way to figure out whom.

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	5. Chapter 5

From his desk in the NCIS bullpen Gibbs had a perfect view of the elevator. Currently he was watching for an old friend who currently worked at the F.B.I. The doors slid open and his entire team stopped working to see who was coming. Tobias Fornell walked into the bullpen his gaze fixed on Gibbs. "This had better be good, Jethro. I just missed a meeting with an informant."

"Reschedule," Gibbs replied picking a cup of coffee up off his desk and started toward the elevator. Apparently the two would be meeting in their usual conference room. Gibbs pushed the button for the elevator and the two stepped inside. After the doors closed Gibbs flipped the power off.

"Okay, what is this about?" Fornell asked.

"Gregory Keen."

"The bureau has been trying to get him and his supplier off the streets for months. Why do you care about him?" Tobias knew the answer of course. Hector Mirendez had been the person to tip them off to Keen, and Fornell knew it was only a matter of time before Gibbs connected the two.

"He is a suspect in a murder investigation and someone in your Bureau is stopping me from talking to him."

"Are they? I know nothing about that, but if they say no one talks to him no one talks to him."

Gibbs saw right through him. He knew Fornell was hiding something. "Whoever you're protecting, Tobias, they're not worth it."

"If you knew, Jethro, you might just make an exception." Fornell muttered before turning the elevator back on. "I'll see you around." Fornell stepped out on the ground floor leaving Gibbs alone to contemplate just what Fornell's last remark meant.

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Leon Vance was down at the NCIS shooting range. He fired at a bulls-eye as he tried to get his thoughts in order. Gibbs would solve the case. Vance was sure of that. Gibbs always solved the case. However what Vance was not sure of was how much of the truth came with the case.

He looked at his bullet pattern. He was pretty good, but nothing on Hector Mirendez. Vance still found it hard to believe the kid was dead. Hector would not have been easy to kill.

His thoughts were interrupted by a voice. "Fancy seeing you down here, Leon," the voice belonged to Agent Tobias Fornell.

"I needed somewhere to think, alone," Vance replied.

"And your office is not conducive to this?"

"In my office it would be far too easy to end up_ not_ alone." Vance's dislike of having the F.B.I agent down here was evident in his voice.

"I just saved your ass Leon. I think I've earned a moment of your time."

"So you have. What do you need?"

"Gibbs is gonna spend a few hours scrambling to get to talk to Keen, but eventually he'll decide to keep investigating without him. You should tell him the truth. You let it blindside him and you will regret it the rest of your life."

"The truth doesn't matter, not to this case."

"You can't know that."

"Tobias, this is _my _agency and _my_ teams. Do _not_ tell me how to run them."

"I would never dream of it Leon. I was just giving you some friendly advice. I've had more experience with him than you."

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**A/N: okay, a short chapter compared to the rest of mine. Oh, well. Reviews are always appreciated, but if you don't I understand, I normally don't.**


	6. Chapter 6

Tony, Ziva, and McGee were all seated at their respective desks when Gibbs walked back into the bullpen from his meeting with Fornell. "Keen's off limits for now. We need another angle."

For the last couple minutes McGee had been doing just that on the off chance Gibbs couldn't get them Keen. He stood up and caught the remote Tony tossed him. "Well there's always Alexander Tate." McGee hit a button and a mug shot appeared on the plasma screen.

"Uh, Probie," Tony started, "This says he's still in prison. How exactly do you expect him to fit into this?"

"I'm getting there Tony. He is in prison because of the double murder of Carlos and Isabel Mirendez, Hector's parents. From what I can gather from the case file, it would seem Alex Tate was trafficking drugs on the base and Isabel turned him in and her testimony was going to be pivotal to convicting him.

"Tate killed Isabelle and Carlos and Hector was left alive by the sheer coincidence that he had snuck out that night to see his girlfriend. When Tate was arrested for the murders he made no secret of the fact that he wanted Hector dead too."

"Does he have enough influence to pull something like this off?" Gibbs asked.

"I talked to Captain Almaden and he said he didn't think Tate had much influence outside Wright Patt that would be the Air Force base out there, but that anything was possible. Especially with how much he wanted Hector dead."

"I want visitors and call logs from where this guy is being held and then you check alibis." Gibbs ordered.

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After his talk with Fornell, Vance proceeded straight to autopsy. "Could I talk to you for a minute Dr. Mallard?"

"Of course, Leon," Ducky replied, "Mr. Palmer, could you go get me a cup of tea?"

Ducky had one sitting on his desk, but Jimmy Palmer got the message and made himself scarce.

"What's on you mind Leon?" Ducky asked as soon as they were alone.

"Gibbs gonna solve the case?"

"Of course, he always solves the case."

"Not sure whether I should be relieved or afraid." Leon's eyes drifted to Hector Mirendez, still lying on a steel slab. He couldn't shake the thought that he was responsible for Hector's death. Maybe if he hadn't involved him he'd be alive.

Ducky was watching Vance, trying to read the expression on his face, and the inner turmoil beneath it.

"I've come to a decision," Vance said.

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"Okay, let's go over this again. Who've we got on Tate's call logs?" Tony asked. They had gotten a little extra time to get a name for Gibbs because Vance had asked to see him.

"Not much," Ziva replied, "His mother, who has never left her home state of West Virginia, but calls him once a week. I checked her alibi and at least thirty people could verify she was in the basement of her church at a religious retreat during time of death."

"I talked to the brother, and he's only called Tate twice, never been up to see him and has an alibi." McGee said.

"And I talked to his accomplice," Tony said. "Dayton local LEOs and military police could only pin the drugs on him, and he's out. There was another drug related charge he just got out on, not to mention weekly calls to Tate and monthly visits. I liked him for it. Until I realized he had an alibi courtesy of the Dayton parole board."

"That is everyone," Ziva said, "He did not have many people who still liked him."

"Square one," Tony said.

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Director Leon Vance was seated in a chair at his desk when to door to his office opened, "Gibbs," he said with a nod to the agent who had just walked in. Vance was about to suggest Gibbs close the door, but he already had. "Your team's been workin' pretty hard these last couple days."

"Best team I ever had. They get the job done."

Vance nodded, "Well, what I was getting at was, don't you think they deserve a night off?"

Gibbs' eyes narrowed as he attempted to figure out what Vance had on his mind. "Do you?" Gibbs asked.

"Well, I think they might need the sleep. Don't want them slipping."

Gibbs couldn't figure this guy out, and normally he was very good at doing just that. "You might be right Leon."

"However, I doubt you'll be going home."

"There's a murderer on the loose."

"Well, it's probably best. I have something I'd like to tell you, but we better wait till the building empties as much as it will."

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**A/N: in case you couldn't tell I have a thing for cliff hangers. Some are better than others.**


	7. Chapter 7

Gibbs looked around the NCIS building. Other than him only one person was in the building that he could see, Director Leon Vance. "Okay, empty building. What did you want to tell me Leon?"

"I actually think it's best someone else tell you. They should be here any minute."

"Leon, I am tired of you dodging this. What is going on?"

Vance was saved from answering by the ringing of his phone. "Yes," he answered it, "Send her up." He shut his phone. "You'll know in less than a minute," he told Gibbs.

"Who's coming up?"

"I just said you will know in less than a minute."

The elevator doors slid open and the former Director of NCIS walked out. Gibbs opened his mouth, but he couldn't think of anything to say. What did you say when something like this happened? She was standing right in front of him and he could still barely believe it. He liked to think he'd had his suspicions for a while, but it was almost impossible to separate them from his longing for things to have been different.

"Jen?" his voice was barely a whisper.

"Yes Jethro, who else would I be?"

Gibbs did not reply. Instead he turned to Vance. He was leaning against a wall, arms crossed, a small smile on his face. Vance was not the least bit surprised.

"What the hell has been going on?" Gibbs screamed.

"I'll explain it." Jenny Shepard said gently pulling him towards the elevator.

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Gibbs turned off the power to the elevator. "What the hell has been going on?" he repeated.

"Once Tony and Ziva found me I was rushed to the hospital..."

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_Jenny Shepard turned her head from the window toward the man sitting in her recovery room. "How are the others?" she asked._

"_Alive," Vance replied, "You're the best I've ever seen. One of the guys had three slugs in him and is currently stable."_

"_Well, that's good."_

"_What do you want me to tell them, Tony and Ziva?"_

"_Tell them I'm dead."_

"_I will, but I'd like to know something first."_

"_You deserve to know. Ask."_

"_Why? Why are you doing this?"_

"_I'm sure you've heard by now that we have ourselves a mole. My people have narrowed it down to three people, and you've spent enough time around Agent Gibbs that I shouldn't have to tell you that he's the best one we've got to figure it out. So I figure split up his current team and replace it with those three people, but if I do it he'll ask too many questions, and SecNav says no one knows. However, if you split them up Gibbs won't ask any questions and soon he'll come to you saying something isn't right about one of them, and I can almost guarantee you that is our guy. Gibbs' gut is never wrong. __Plus there's the matter of our past catching up to us, and this'll tip Gibbs off to it. So really it's two birds with one stone."_

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"That's what's been going on Jethro." Jenny finished.

"Why weren't you back months ago then, if that's why you did it?" Gibbs asked.

"Fornell asked for my help on an under cover case."

"Fornell? Fornell knew!"

"Yes, he being the only person I knew who had faked his own death. He helped me out, and I helped him out."

"Why did he want you?"

"Because I had no cover to be blown. I'm dead. Don't try to blame this on me Jethro. Had your gut been working I would've been back a long time ago because I wouldn't have helped him out. Since when does it take you more than a month to figure out something is off about someone you work with everyday!"

"Maybe since you died, Jen! Maybe if I hadn't been so busy trying to deal with what had just happened, trying to figure out how I could've changed it, and wondering if...forget it. It doesn't even matter." He turned the elevator power back on.

Jenny reached in front of him and turned it back off. "Wondering if what, Jethro?"

In answer he kissed her. "Wondering if I had done that, just once more, how things would've been different."

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**A/N: there you have it. Did anyone think she was actually dead?**


	8. Chapter 8

Ducky was sitting in his living room reading a book. It was late. He hadn't looked at his clock for a while, but he was sure it was past midnight. He wasn't normally one to pass up a full nights sleep, he got them so rarely. However, on this particular night, he had a feeling he might be needed.

He heard a knock at his door. He opened the door to find Leroy Jethro Gibbs standing on his front porch. His stoic face kept most of the world from guessing at the emotions underneath, but Ducky could see confusion and betrayal, with joy buried just beneath them.

"You know, don't you?" Ducky asked.

"Yeah," Gibbs replied.

"Well, come on in. Would you like some coffee?"

"Not this time Duck."

"Okay, sit down Jethro. So what's on your mind?"

"How long have you known?"

"Eight months. She didn't tell me until everything had happened."

"Why didn't you ever say anything? You saw what it did to m- to everyone."

"Yes, to you especially. I wanted to say something, but Jennifer is as much my friend as you are and I wasn't going to tell anyone anything until she said it was okay."

No one said anything for a long time. Ducky was the first to break the silence that hung over them. "Jethro, you have a murder to solve, and new information that goes along with it."

"Yeah, I suppose I do. Thanks for talkin' to me Duck."

"Any time. And your entire team should know by morning."

"And Abby?"

Ducky laughed. "Right, her too obviously. It's just I think of her as part of your team. Just out of curiosity, what are you going to do first?"

"I'm gonna go talk to Fornell. He's still keeping my chief suspect form me."

"And one last thing," Ducky was serious again, "You never know when your chances are going to end. She's still dying, Jethro."

"Yeah, I know."

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Gibbs rarely came to the F.B.I building. Normally he insisted on meeting at NCIS headquarters or neutral territory. Fornell knew that Gibbs standing in the doorway of his office meant something was so important it couldn't wait ten minutes for him to get to NCIS.

"Nice office you got here," Gibbs said.

"And that is not the reason you are here. What do you want?" Fornell replied.

"I want my suspect."

"Keen is off limits. I believe I've already told you this."

Gibbs slammed the door shut. "I know everything."

"I figured. I just had to make sure. You have no idea how close she kept coming to calling you. What happened between you two anyway?"

"Paris. I'd tell you to look it up, but your clearance probably isn't high enough. Now are you going to give me Keen, or do I have to march in there and take him myself."


	9. Chapter 9

McGee stood in Abby's lab, a Caf-Pow in hand. She had decided to compensate for going home early last night by coming in early. He had decided she might need a little pick-me-up. However, he noticed she was already bouncing around her lab, her music at an almost deafening level. "Gibbs already got to you didn't he?" McGee asked.

Abby turned toward him as if she had just noticed he was in there. "Timmy, Timmy did you hear?"

"Yeah I heard." He placed a hand on her shoulder, keeping her in one place.

"Isn't it great? Ya know Tim, I knew all along."

"I'm sure you did Abs." The disbelief in his voice was masked fairly well. He could almost feel her excitement emanating from her skin. He started to hand her the Caf-Pow then stopped. "Maybe you don't need this."

Abby immediately snapped to attention, trying to convince him that though she may not need the caffeine she is not already high off it.

"Here you go," McGee said handing it to her.

Abby took one long drink through the straw and dropped it to her lap. "What've you got for me?" she asked

"What makes you think I have something for you to do?"

"Gibbs brings me a Caf-Pow when I have something to give him and you bring me one when your about to give me work to do."

"Not this time Abs. Though if you really need something to do you could look through Hector's computer. Though I doubt he's kept anything that ties him to Keen or a conspiracy involving the director of a federal agency."

"If I get bored I'll see what I can find."

"I'm going out to get some breakfast. I'll bring you something down." He said as he walked out the doors of her lab.

"Thanks," she called after him. A content smile sat on her face as she drank her Caf-Pow and spun around in her chair. Why was he so sweet to her? She wondered.

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Gregory Keen had been sitting in the NCIS interrogation room for half an hour before someone walked in the door. Gregory looked the agent over. "You're not the usual agent knocking on my door askin' about drugs."

"No, I'm not," Gibbs replied simply.

"So, what does NCIS want with me today?"

"I'd like to ask you a couple questions about Hector Mirendez."

"That son-of-a-bitch what's he sayin' I did this time?"

"Not sayin' much of anything actually." Gibbs slammed one of the crime scene photos down on the table in between them. "He's dead."

"You can't possibly think I did this?"

"You had a major fight with him, publicly threatened him, and it's not like you don't have any priors. You tell me what I'm supposed to think."

"But murder, just isn't my style. You ask whoever was reporting back to the F.B.I. It was probably that red-head. In fact I'm sure it was her. You better tell her to watch her back. Just because murder isn't my thing doesn't mean none of my people are geared that way."

Gibbs slammed his fist on the table, it taking all of his restraint not to strangle the man sitting across from him. "You will not touch her!" he screamed. Once he had calmed down sufficiently and fixed Keen with his best glare. "You won't even be able to get near her."

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"Well Jethro," Jenny was saying. The two were talking over the phone because Gibbs had decided he couldn't leave and Jenny couldn't come to NCIS. "I really hate to defend him, but murder isn't really his style."

"Square one it is…again," Gibbs replied.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Sorry for the delay in update. I was at Walt Disney World. Here's the next chapter.**

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"Okay," Gibbs started slamming his cell phone shut, "It's not Tate's doing, and Jenny's pretty sure it's not Keen. Who else 've we got?"

"No one," McGee answered, "We'll do some digging, but-"

"Idiots," Tony interrupted.

Gibbs rounded on him. "Something you'd like to share, DiNozzo?"

"The morphine," Tony continued as if it were obvious, "He was killed with morphine, and our killer had to get it from somewhere, and it was most likely Bethesda Naval Hospital. If we can find the morphine, we can find our killer."

"DiNozzo, David, Bethesda, now."

"On it Boss." The two grabbed their guns and coats and left.

Gibbs turned toward McGee. "And I'm sure there's something you could be doing." He told McGee.

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A nurse looked up at Tony and Ziva as they walked into Bethesda Naval Hospital. "What can I help you with today?" she asked them.

"Agents DiNozzo, David, NCIS," Tony replied showing her his badge. "We have a few questions."

"Of course, anything I can do to help."

"Has any morphine gone missing from this hospital in the last couple days?" Tony asked.

"I'm sure some has, hardly a week goes by without incidents like this."

"What?" Ziva asked.

"Thefts like this are commonplace at any major hospital. We keep inventory, I could tell you how much is missing, definitely." The nurse explained.

"Good, and who in this hospital would have access to this drug."

"Any of the doctors or nurses on staff, and i'm sure a fair number of our patients have training that would be able to get them in undetected."

"Okay, could we have a list of all the doctors and nurses on staff from- how often do you take inventory of your drugs?" Tony asked.

"Every day."

"And when was the last time any was stolen?"

The nurse looked it up on her computer. "Three days ago." She answered.

"Everyone on staff three days ago and all the patients that came through here. Thank you."

"Tony we are really not going to cross check all of those names are we? Do you any concept of how long that list will be?" Ziva asked out of the corner of her mouth.

"Unless you have a better idea."

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Tony deposited five page lists on his, Ziva's, and McGee's desk. "It may look like a lot, but about half this list we should be able to cross right off," he started, "First off Ducky put time of death at 8 to 9 p.m three days ago so anyone who clocked in after that isn't our killer. And when it comes to the patients if they weren't released until after 9 that day they couldn't have killed him either, and pizza should be here any minute."

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Ziva was done with her list three and a half hours later, and she was the first. She had gotten all the luck, closer to three quarters of her list did not need a phone call and alibi check. Tony had been slacking and was just starting the third page of his list. McGee on the other hand looked almost done.

On her list Ziva had found three possibles. She logged in to her computer and began to get more background on them. That was when a man they didn't recognize walked into the bullpen. He looked like he hadn't slept in days.

"I'm looking for Special Agent Gibbs." He said.

"He just went out for some coffee, what is it that you wanted?" Ziva asked.

"I want to confess."


	11. Chapter 11

"I don't believe him," Tony said. He and Ziva were looking through a one-way window into interrogation at the man currently occupying one of the two seats.

"You haven't even heard what he has to say," Ziva said.

"People don't just walk in and confess."

"I admit it's rare, but people do have consciouses, Tony."

"_Killer's_ do not."

Ziva turned to face him and he immediately realized his mistake. "Don't they, Tony?" she asked. He was all too fond of pointing out to her that she was an assassin.

"Not that I mean that you…" he trailed off, "Is there any way to save myself here?" he asked.

"As amusing as it would be to watch you try, I don't think so."

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Gibbs paused before walking into interrogation. This was all too easy. This couldn't possibly be right. Then again the team was due an answer falling in their lap as this one had. A quick check had turned out that the man was a doctor at Bethesda, was at the hospital the day of Hector's death, and left an hour and a half early, putting him without an alibi smack in the middle of Ducky's time of death.

He pushed the handle down and opened the door. "So, Dr. Zeth, I was told you wanted to confess to the murder of Hector Mirendez."

"Yeah, I do."

"Okay then. Tell me what happened."

"I had been stealing for a while. Morphine's just so easy to get from Bethesda and I make a nice profit on the streets. That day I had left early with a lot of it. Standing right outside was Petty Officer Mirendez. I don't know maybe I was overreacting, but it seemed like he had been waiting for me. I just panicked. I had heard that he ratted on Keen. So I just hit him over the head with my briefcase. He staggered a couple steps and then fell. I knew he wasn't dead, I mean I didn't have the strength in my arm, not after my injury anyway. But I couldn't just leave him. He'd tell the first person who came across him it was me. I figured I stood a better chance if he was dead. So I injected him with some of the stolen morphine.

"But then I just couldn't sleep, couldn't concentrate on anything. The boy's face was following me everywhere. I know prison has to be better than how I'm living."

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Dr. Zeth's story had been checked out and strangely, confirmed. The briefcase had miniscule amounts of blood no amount of scrubbing would've been able to get off, and fit the wound in Hector's skull.

Tony was still having a hard time believing it. "So, Hector Mirendez's parents were both killed and he was supposed to be too, he was involved in a conspiracy to fake the death of the director of a federal agency, and ratted on a drug dealer with big time connections, and in the end is killed by a doctor because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Probie, this is not the kinda case you want to turn into your next book."

"Oh, I don't know Tony. No one'd see the ending coming." McGee replied.

"Yeah, but it was all too easy. I'm still not a hundred percent sure he's our guy."

"Had he not walked in and confessed you would be a hundred percent sure." Ziva interjected.

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Jenny Shepard had spent most of the day explaining what she had done and why she had done it to the heads of numerous different agencies, and filling out a seemingly never ending stack of paperwork. By the time she was free to go home I was almost midnight. It was then that she realized she didn't have a home at the moment. The F.B.I had confiscated the apartment she had been using and Gibbs had burnt her home to the ground.

That left her only one option. Then again she probably would've ended up there anyway.

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"Things never change. Do they Jethro?" Jenny called from the top of steps leading down to Gibbs' basement. She walked down the steps admiring his nearly complete boat. "You're in your basement drinking bourbon out of a coffee mug working on your boat alone."

He chuckled. "I'm not alone Jen, you're here."

"And had I not come?"

"I knew you'd come." _Hoped is more like it._ He corrected himself silently. "It's not really like you have anywhere else to go."

"Yes, and thank you for that." Her voice was dripping with sarcasm.

"You can crash here if you want." He actually managed a fair job of masking the hopefulness in his voice, given the circumstances.

"We'll see." She said with a smile.

God he loved her smile. Why did he ever let her go? "I'm and idiot." He answered his own question aloud, unaware he was doing so.

"Well, I'll agree with you there Jethro."

"Damn it Jen, I'm trying to be serious."

"Okay, what do you want to say?"

"I let you leave me once and then you showed back up in my life and I never acted any of those chances. You never know when they're gonna end and God help me if you try to leave again."

She smiled and shook her head. "I don't plan on leaving, Jethro." She leaned into him wrapping her arms around him. He soon returned the embrace.

How long they stood there, neither moving nor saying a word, neither knew nor cared. Jenny was the one who eventually broke the silence. "Guess rule number twelve's shot t' hell huh?"

"Everyone breaks rule number twelve." Gibbs replied. Tony always had been smarter than he looked.

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**A/N: There it is. I'm done. Hope ya liked it. Drop me a review, whatever. Another story might show up if I get another idea.**

**Until then…Peace out!**


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